How to sync iPhone with new iMac

First of all, I realise I haven't gone about this in the right way. I got myself into a difficult situation and I don't know how to get out.

My Mac Mini (10.4.11) was giving me trouble, so I decided to get Leopard & do a fresh install. I was using the Mini to sync with my iPhone, so before wiping it I backed up all my music & photos to my Powerbook (also running 10.4.11). I also backed up the following onto a USB stick:Library/ApplicationSupport/iTunesLibrary/LockdownLibrary/MobileSync

Even after upgrading to Leopard, I found the Mac Mini just wasn't sufficient for my needs any more, so I decided to trade it in for an Intel iMac. The iMac is working nicely. I had few hiccups trying to use the "Automatically add to iTunes" folder when transferring my music from the Powerbook. But it worked fine when I started dragging the files directly to the iTunes Music folder instead. I also authorized my iTunes account on the iMac.

When I connected my iPhone to the iMac for the first time, I couldn't sync in the same way that I did before. I was warned that all the applications would be removed from the phone. The only part of the sync process that appeared to be intact was the photos, so I didn't risk proceeding with the sync. I then disconnected the phone and added the above files from the USB stick. I shut down iTunes, restarted the computer and connected the iPhone again, but with the same results as before.

So my system thinks it is syncing for the first time, even though I've done my best to imitate the set-up I had previously. I feel sure that if I go ahead and sync, I will lose a lot of data from my iPhone.

When I purchased a new MacBook Pro a couple of months ago or so, I used an external firewire drive that I use for backup purposes to transfer my iTunes library from my PowerBook to my MacBook Pro. I copied the iTunes named folder at Home > Music and with iTunes quit on my MBP, I placed the copy in the same location on my MBP at Home > Music.

I transferred nothing else and my iPhone was not erased of all iTunes content the first time I synced my iPhone with iTunes on my MBP. 3rd party apps are stored in a Mobile Applications named folder located in the iTunes folder.

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